JamieJakov Blog

Sydney Brick Expo

April 18th, 2016

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved LEGO. This simple, yet complex game of building anything that your imagination can think of, has entertained me for numerous years. Alas due to the move to Sydney, I could not bring my trusty LEGO blocks with me and continue building (though I started building with the power of software).

Well, even though I might not have any blocks with me, that doesn’t mean I stopped liking LEGO! So Amy invited me to go to the Sydney Brick Show. At this exhibition, various artists (yes they are artists, they produce art with their creativity) show off their creations. Some were large, others were motorised or light up, some were references to pop culture, then others look plain cool. There was a lot to see, and a lot of people that came to see, parents and children all around. It was great to see so many lego enthusiasts loving their hobby and showing it off to the new generation.

Oh how I miss my LEGO. Also photos:

Australia Day 2016

January 27th, 2016

Every year families all around the country gather together to celebrate Australia Day. Its the day that the whole nation celebrates the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, NSW. Australia has become a very multicultural society, but nevertheless everyone gathers together for festive barbecues and beach outings. All of this is usually followed by a display of fireworks in the CBD of the major cities.

Also, there is a antique car show! So Amy and I went to explore it. Old cars are so majestic, and the photos turned out great:

The Goal

January 16th, 2016

I don’t really read many books, but when I do, they affect me in a big way. This book made me question the processes we follow and actions we take in our everyday lives, and evaluate their value in terms of achieving “The Goal”. It was published in 1984, but the concepts that it covers are still relevant to this day. Personally, I strive for perfection and getting the most value out of everything I do and that happens around me. Trying to minimise wasted time and effort, and achieving most results with minimal expenses (financial and other).

Sculptures by the Sea 2015

November 8th, 2015

Every year the creative minds of Sydney gather together and present a number of exhibitions at the cove between Bondi and Bronte beaches. This event is called Sculptures by the Sea. UTS Drawing Circle, being the more creative club, organised an outing to this event, and since I have friends there and I don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to practice taking photos with my DSLR, I obviously joined in.

The weather wasn’t the best, but I managed to get some good photos. You can see all of them right here:

anime@UTS does hanami

August 30th, 2015

As per tradition, every year anime@UTS heads over to Auburn to experience the beauty of the Japanese sakura trees. This year was no different. Unfortunately due to the large storm that hit Sydney the previous Monday, there weren’t many blossoms left, but enough to get us excited and to take so many beautiful photos. This year it wasn’t just UTS who attended either, all of AnimeSydney was there together! If you have never seen Japanese sakura, you should defintelly check out Auburn next year in September. I know for sure that we will be there again.

Photos here:

Aussie slang

July 29th, 2015

One thing all my international friends can agree on is that it is hard to understand Aussies speak. They generally speak too fast, don’t pronounce words clearly enough, and shorten everything. And I mean everything!

This video was shown to us at the UTS Accomplish: Adapting to the Australian workplace lecture/ seminar, and over 80% of the students in the room had no idea what they said in the last sentence. Watch it yourself and see how accustomed to Australia you have become.

Beware of flying apples

July 21st, 2015

Flying Apples

You know how much I love Apple and apples. I love the tech and I love eating all sorts of delicious fruit. What I don’t like, is when apples start flying. Now that, my friends, is terrifying.

Las night I was heading back home at around 11pm. Then while walking back home on the empty roads of Rhodes, minding my own business, I hear a whizzing sound of something falling, I thought it was a bird flying by, or maybe a broken tree branch, but I was greatly mistaken. A Granny Smith apple had fallen onto the bonnet of a parked car.

As any normal person, I look up to see,
wether I was walking past an apple tree.
Which I was not,
and where it came from I could not spot.
Leaving it be and proceeding home,
I was bewildered by the apple that’d flown.
A few seconds later, and to my surprise,
another apple had fallen from the skies.
This time much closer to me,
so I couldn’t just … let it be.
Pretty damn shocked I ran for my flat,
away from all these apples that fly and go splat!
Reaching my room and telling Alex the story,
he laughed for a bit, but then he got worried.
Crazy people are crazy indeed,
lets be a bit carful. Agreed!

Hope you liked my little tale. I tried to rhyme the best I could, cause I thought I might be a poet, but didn’t even know it!

Avenue Q Musical

July 17th, 2015

Avenue Q poster

So far I have only been to one musical, that was “Mamma Mia” on Broadway NY in 2009. But yesterday Amy and I went to see Avenue Q at the Enmore Theatre. It was a great show, and I can say, I laughed so hard my cheeks were hurting. Before going in to watch the musical, I had no idea what it was about or anything, aside from Amy’s brief explanation that it has something to do with Sesame Street.

After watching I can give a brief plot summary. The story takes place in New York on, you guessed it, Avenue Q. We are shown the life of all the residents and a new collage graduate struggling to make ends meat. Even though they might seem like a regular bunch of people (and monsters), but they all have something that makes them special. Like Tod, who is gay (even though he doesn’t want to admit it) living together with Nicky, unemployed college graduate; Brian, the jewish ex-baker with an oriental wife – Christmas Eve; Trekkie, the monster, who … utilises the internet to its fullest potential; and others. What else makes them all special, is that they are all just a little bit racist, for now and of course, it sucks to be them, if they were gay.

And now I finally know where the some of the viral songs and memes come from. Overall great show, very happy Amy invited me to go. Her is a link for the playlist of songs, but I would highly recommend that you go watch it yourself if you can.

Eurovision 2015

May 28th, 2015

esc2015_logo

The biggest song contest in the world is back for the 60th time, and this year with a special guest participant – Australia! Thats right, this year us Aussies can party together with the cool cats in Europe… at 5am… Yea, when Europe was celebrating Sweden’s outstanding performance and win in the contest, we were just having brekky and getting ready for a long Sunday ahead of us. But it was definitely a fun experience – being able to vote for my favourite European countries from all they way out here, in the middle of nowhere.
Everyone was shocked to find Australia participate, but they quickly agreed that it was a good idea after they heard our Guy Sebastian perform.

I loved his perforce, but my favourite is still that macho from Sweden with those pretty drawn animations in the background. Not only were the animations memorable, but the guitar music in the verse was just outstanding, I still have it stuck in my head. Overall great performance, adding it to my top for sure.

70 Лет Великой Победы!

May 9th, 2015

С праздником Победы, славным, легендарным,
Пусть Господь дарует мир на всей земле,
Не затухнет память в сердце благодарном,
Не тускнеет злато на гербовом орле!
Поколение новых гениев, талантов,
Пусть рождает снова гордый отчий край,
И под песни детства и под бой курантов
Согревает душу пусть победный май!